‘Wait your turn to be vaccinated’
Queue-jumping may undermine country’s immunisation plan, experts warn
PETALING JAYA: Any attempt by persons of authority or influence to get access to Covid-19 vaccinations before their turn must be stopped in its tracks to maintain continued confidence in the country’s vaccination programme, experts have warned.
They said there must be no loopholes or flaws in the vaccination registration system that could give space for the irresponsible to jump the vaccination queue.
“Queue-jumping undermines the people’s trust in the authorities and will make the job of delivering important messages to the public harder than ever,” said Universiti Malaya epidemiologist Prof Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud.
Malaysia kicked off its National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme on Feb 24 but claims of queue-jumping have already emerged on social media.
Frontliners are currently being vaccinated in the first phase, which will end next month.
The second phase from April to August will involve high-risk groups and those aged 60 and above, while the rest of the Malaysian population aged 18 years and above will be vaccinated in the third phase, which is from May 2021 to February 2022.
Last Sunday, Twitter user Dr Rafidah Abdullah posted that she had received many messages about vaccination queue-jumping.
“We need to ensure distributive justice and instil trust in our national immunisation programme.
“Perhaps MOSTI YB @Khairykj can consider having an independent channel for people to file complaints and ensure repercussions for queue-jumpers,” said Dr Rafidah, who works with the Health Ministry.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin responded to Dr Rafidah the same day, saying that his team had been monitoring social media comments by apparent whistleblowers.
The Special Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Committee then issued a list specifying who exactly is a frontliner and said it will not allow anyone not on the list to queue-jump.
A special sub-committee has also been set up to investigate complaints of those who queue-jump to get the vaccine meant for frontliners under the programme’s first phase.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba has said such queue-jumpers can be fined not more than RM50,000 or jailed not more than six months, or both.
He said such action could be taken under Section 31, a new provision under the Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, which comes into effect on March 11.
Dr Awang Bulgiba urged the authorities to keep an eye out for queue-jumpers amid reports that the pace of registration for the vaccination via the MySejahtera app is slow at present.
As of yesterday, only 5.8% of the population or 1,909,585 people have registered for the vaccine.
Dr Awang Bulgiba said the slow pace of registrations could motivate queue-jumpers into trying to get the vaccine before their turn.
He suggested that the authorities consider the use of tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) to help weed out attempts by those who do not qualify as frontliners to get ahead of the queue.
He said the government should also step up its campaign to get more people to register for the second phase of the programme to make sure that all senior citizens get vaccinated on schedule. Universiti Putra Malaysia medical epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman condemned queue-jumpers for being unfair to those who deserve to be vaccinated earlier.
“Those who deserve to be vaccinated earlier but are less fortunate may be pushed to a later date and this may expose them to the risk of infection and complications of the disease,” she said.
Dr Malina said another possible reason that some were trying to get ahead of the queue is the belief that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine being used currently is superior to others that Malaysia will also use.
In addition, some influential people may be demanding to get their shots early so that they can get an immunity passport to make it easier for them to travel overseas.
“I would suggest that the government agencies provide a fair description of all the vaccines and avoid highlighting a particular type in their promotions. The list of those who have registered and are ensured of the vaccine should also be made transparent and available to all,” she proposed, adding that a receipt of acknowledgement on the date of vaccination, place and batch of vaccine should be presented as people complete their registration process.
Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said all queue-jumping attempts must be stopped to avoid the impression that the system can be manipulated to the advantage of certain individuals.
“Those in the higher-risk groups should be immunised first according to the order of priority groups listed in Categories 1 and 2 of the government’s guidelines.
“In its guidelines, healthcare frontliners are first in line. We should ensure our public and private healthcare frontliners include private GPs (general practitioners), specialist clinics and dentists, and that they are first to be vaccinated as they are at the highest risk of exposure to Covid-19,” he said.
Dr Subramaniam added that the issue should not be taken lightly as it can affect public confidence and urged authorities to be clear on its policies, both on paper and in implementation.
“Every shot of vaccine must be accounted for and therefore stricter control is needed,” he said.